Chapter Text
You shivered, clutching your jacket tighter around your torso. Gotham nights were usually cold, but tonight seemed to be especially so, despite it being springtime. The wind seemed to blow directly onto your bones in your crouched vantage point on a building’s roof. Having been on this particular rooftop for a few hours now, you debated retiring for the night. Your research led you to believe that a certain group of local vigilantes would be swinging by this part of the city, but apparently not.
Sighing, you adjusted your grip on your camera. The night had turned out to be a bust, which, unfortunately, you were used to. But you didn't want to leave empty-handed, so to speak. With a grunt you stood, knees cracking from the change in position.
The horizon glowed from the emitted light pollution, throwing the dark buildings in stark contrast, the moon and stars twinkling in the sky. Adjusting your stance, you reached up with your camera, placed your eye in the viewfinder, and took the shot. Gotham may have many problems, but it was home, and you loved taking pictures of her.
A barely audible thwip caused you to jerk away from your camera and drop back into a crouch, cursing silently. You needed to have more faith in yourself and your research capabilities, it seemed. Turning towards the noise, your eyes widened as you registered the three figures that had perched on the edge of the building across from you.
The Red Hood and Red Robin were no surprise, they had been rumored to have spent a lot of time in this area for the past few days. Busting a trafficking scheme or something of the sort. But it was the last person that caused your shock.
There Nightwing was, squatting next to his fellow vigilantes, face in profile and smile resting upon it. He hadn't been seen or heard of since the destruction of Bludhaven two months ago, and many were worried that he had been one of the many casualties of the raze.
Quickly raising your camera, you took the shot, quietly thanking every god that you knew that you had recently bought a silent camera. Your usual go-to camera that you used for your job was higher quality, with better resolution, but it had a very audible click and shutter sound every time you took a photo. You loved the thing to bits, but it had put you in a few precarious situations before when you had stalked the local nightlife and they heard the little click .
You had over a decade of experience photographing this particular kind of nightlife, starting on a whim in middle school after witnessing Batman and Robin fly across the rooftops outside of your apartment window. A few years into your hobby, around the time you started high school, you decided to post your pictures on a blog you made, under the username “night_stalker” where you quickly became a known user in the Gotham community. Weekly updates kept your followers sated and made sure that even if you didn't go out every night, you still had something to post.
You had favorite subjects to photograph of course, and the top one was the first Robin, or Nightwing now. Stalking, for lack of a better term, the vigilantes caused you to get a sense of their personalities. Batman was stoic and caring, always taking hits that Robin would have taken otherwise. The first Robin had anger issues and a strong sense of justice, downing criminals with an almost personal vengeance. The second Robin was snarky and kind, always taking the time to reassure the victims of a crime that they were alright. When he died, you made an entire post dedicated just to him with some of his best pictures during his time as Robin. (You had a theory, though, that he was somehow actually alive and the Red Hood, but couldn't prove it as you could with Nightwing.) The third Robin was calculated and quick, subduing criminals before they even knew he was there. The fourth(?) Robin was a blonde girl, active for only around a week, and you only managed to get two pictures of her before she disappeared. And, finally, the current Robin was serious and dedicated. He was colder at the beginning when he was first active with Nightwing as Batman (obvious to you because of the stalking), but he had warmed up considerably since then, leaving cirminals less wounded, and even cracking jokes a few times.
You took a few more photos of the trio, the plastic of your camera cold against your fingers. You knew that you wouldn't have a chance like this again, seeing your favorite vigilante out and about for the first time in months, so you decided to make the most of it and took as many photos as you could.
It was honestly something that still surprised you, how much you enjoyed photography, even though it even though you had been doing it ever since you were small. When you first started pursuing it as a career, you were worried that it was something of a phase and you wouldn't want to be doing it for your entire life, especially as you started college and majored in photography. But thankfully, the hobby that had graced you as a young child translated perfectly into your job experience. Your work as a freelance photographer was something of a dream, taking pictures of every major event and selling them to the nearest newspaper or magazine company. It was a game changer, being able to create your own schedule and not have to worry about going to work every single morning, especially with your late nights.
The vigilantes were talking to each other, their words lost to the freezing wind before they could reach your ears. Then on some sort of cue, they jumped down from the rooftop, racing towards the warehouse across the street by the docks. It was always great to get photos of them in action, even though it was more dangerous to you, seeing as you could be caught in the line of fire. Tonight, however, you decided to stay on your roof, using the zoom function of your camera to take pictures through the warehouse windows, gunshots lighting up the night and echoing in the quiet. You were used to gunshots, living in Gotham your entire life, but they still always triggered your anxiety, though this time not for yourself.
After about twenty minutes, the vigilantes could be seen again, strolling out of the warehouse doors, shoving and talking to each other. You had a few theories about their relationship and how familial it seemed, but that was the point right now. Leaning slightly over the rooftop edge, you took more pictures, focusing on their faces. Or what you could see of them. Naturally, you focused most of your attention on Nightwing, loving the way the warm lights from the warehouse shone across his face, complementing his tan skin nicely.
Police sirens sounded through the night, coming closer to your location, and you decided that you had enough pictures for tonight. Gathering your things and putting your camera away into your bag where it sat beside you, you walked over to the fire escape on the other side of the building. Climbing down, you thought about what you saw tonight. Nightwing was back. This was huge, something that people needed to know immediately. Resolving yourself to update your blog tonight, you begin heading towards the 24-hour internet cafe that you normally went to to update it.
You weren't stupid, you knew that some unsavory people wanted to know who you were and how you got those pictures, so you made sure to play it safe by using a VPN, and free public internet to update it, never accessing it outside of that. A new email address was created specifically for the blog. You make sure not to add anything personal in the blog, not even where you went to school. You're mostly worried about the Rogues figuring out who you were and using you for some sort of blackmail against your vigilantes. It didn't make much sense, but your anxiety rarely did.
Even if you weren’t interested in your vigilantes’ civilian identities doesn’t mean no one else was.
Entering the cafe, you ordered a coffee and sat in your usual spot, slipping your laptop out of your bag. It may have been past two in the morning, but that didn't mean that you would stop fueling your caffeine addiction. Thanking the worker who brought you your drink, you settled down to upload the pictures to your laptop and write your post.
night_stalker
Hey everyone! I know that this isn’t when I usually update, but tonight I saw something big: NIGHTWING IS BACK AND IN GOTHAM WHAT!!! I’m so glad he isn't dead because I was so worried?!?? Don't do that to me again Nightwing, I swear to fuck.
Okay, time for the pictures. (the last one’s my favorite):
[Picture: Red Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood crouching on the edge of a roof, the moon in the sky above them, casting a silver light onto the three of them. Nightwing is running a hand through his hair, a toothy smile on his face, a dimple on his cheek, angled slightly towards the camera. Red Robin looks irritated, mouth pulled in a frown. Red Hood’s helmet remains expressionless.]
Taken April 25th, 20XX, 1:17 AM.
[Picture: Red Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood Jumping through the air, grapples in their hands and arms extended, readying to shoot. Red Robin’s cape billows in the night behind him, framing the vigilantes in black. Nightwing’s hair flows in the wind, leaving his face exposed, domino crinkled at the corners of his eyes and mouth wide in a grin. Red Hood’s helmet remains expressionless.]
Taken April 25th, 20XX, 1:19 AM.
[Picture: Nightwing from the shoulders up, face in three-fourths view, seemingly talking to one of the other vigilantes, mouth pulled in a smirk. Hair sticks to his forehead with sweat, a few drops running down his face and drip off his jawline.]
Taken April 25th, 20XX, 1:42 AM
Sorry there aren’t that many, they’re all from tonight. Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did taking them!!
Happy with the blog, you press post and lean back into your chair, sipping at your lukewarm coffee. Immediately comments start to flood in, despite the time. Scrolling through them, you smile to yourself. It seemed that a bunch of other people were glad Nightwing was back, too.
You close your laptop and stretch your arms. You normally don’t reply to comments, so going inactive after posting was a regular thing.
After collecting your things, you waved goodbye to the worker and left the cafe, set on getting a good night’s rest. Walking back to your home in the Narrows was always stressful, even more so at nighttime. Gotham was a dangerous city; you had to be prepared for anything. And you were.
Tapping your side, you felt the shape of the gun in its holster underneath your jacket. Your mother had insisted that you get one as soon as you turned twenty-one, with a concealed carry permit, and you agreed with her. You never left for your nightly activities without it. It’s already saved you more than once, even just the sight of a strap deterring the common mugger. But that didn’t mean that you didn’t know how to use it.
You went to the range biweekly to keep your skills sharp and you aim on point. It made your mother feel better about letting you out at night.
Your mother, who had found out when you were sixteen and sneaking back in through your window, the house a wreck due to her frantic searching for you. She tried to force you to give up your nightly hobby, but eventually gave in once she realized that you couldn’t be swayed away. She did set a curfew, though, not liking you being up so late on school nights. A small price to pay.
Climbing up the steps to your apartment, you fiddled with the keys. You had recently moved out, your savings from freelancing through high school and college being more than enough to pay for a small apartment. Your mother was a little sad but understood your need for independence after college.
After unlocking your door, setting your bag on the couch, and changing into a large shirt, you flopped into your bed, letting out a sigh of relief as you sank into the mattress. You were only twenty-four, but sometimes it felt like you were middle-aged, especially your joints. That's what you get for staying in weird poses while taking photos.
After a few minutes of thinking about Nightwing’s return, you drifted off into sleep.